Mistletoe and Magic for the Midwife

By Jo Bartlett

The brand new instalment in the top 10 bestselling Midwives series!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

But for single mum and busy midwife Nadia, it’s quickly turning into her worst Christmas ever.

Her marriage is over, and whilst her husband has moved on, Nadia finds herself back home, squashed into her mum’s spare room with her two small children. They might not be a perfect family anymore, but Nadia is determined to make this Christmas special for them.

Dr Hamish Spencer totally understands Nadia’s pain. As a fellow single parent, he’s struggling to cope with a rebellious teen daughter and a precocious six-year-old! Perhaps if he and Nadia join forces, they could make this Christmas slightly more memorable for everyone?

The last thing Nadia wants is a new man in her life, but she’d definitely like lovely Hamish as a friend. But Christmas has a way of melting the hardest of hearts and maybe a kiss under the mistletoe could change everything?

Praise for The Cornish Midwife Series:

'Stunning setting, wonderful characters, and oozing with warmth. A triumph from Jo Bartlett.' Jessica Redland

'Perfectly written and set in the beating heart of a community, this story is a wonderful slice of Cornish escapism.' Helen J Rolfe

“I absolutely love the Cornish Midwife series, especially being an aspiring midwife from Cornwall. Despite being fiction, these books never fail to motivate me to carry on studying when things get tough and really become The Cornish Midwife myself.” Tegan from Reading with Tegs (book blogger and trainee midwife)

“I get so absorbed in the books from the Cornish Midwife series, I can’t put them down. The characters are like my colleagues, a tight group of people who love the job they do. The stories are truly captivating and make me feel like I am working alongside the characters, as the series mirrors my working life as a Midwifery Care Assistant so well.” Sandra Twyman, Midwifery Care Assistant and avid reader

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boldwood Books
• Release date: Oct 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781837514939

Jo Bartlett

Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of over nineteen women’s fiction titles. She fits her writing in between her two day jobs as an educational consultant and university lecturer and lives with her family and three dogs on the Kent coast.

Book preview

1

Nadia glanced at the clock again. There were only thirty minutes left until pick-up from the after-school club at Port Agnes primary, but there was no hurrying a labour, not even this close to delivery. The baby would come when it was good and ready.

‘What time did Ella say she’d get here?’ Nadia whispered to Anna in between their patient’s contractions. Unless it was unavoidable, there needed to be two midwives in the room when a baby was delivered.

Nadia should have left an hour ago, been to the supermarket and already be on the way to pick up her four-year-old son, Mo, from nursery before going to the school to get his sister, Remi. She also needed to pick up a couple of Halloween costumes from somewhere, because there was no way she’d have a chance to make them, even if she had the skill.

‘She should be here by half five and then you can shoot off and get the kids.’

‘Please don’t go!’ Agata Kowalski pulled a face. She’d been in labour since the start of Nadia’s shift, and she was in no mood to change one of her midwives at this late stage. ‘I don’t want you to leave before I have this baby!’

‘I’m not going anywhere.’ Nadia exchanged a look with Anna. Unless this baby got a wiggle on, she was going to have to break that promise, but she didn’t want Agata to worry about any of that. She’d seen the top of the baby’s head with the last contraction and once she got near the end of the second stage of labour, Agata probably wouldn’t realise if Nadia suddenly painted herself green, let alone which midwives were actually there to see her baby emerge into the world. For now, though, Nadia would just keep pretending she didn’t need to be in two places at once.

‘I can’t do this!’ Agata screamed as another contraction took hold.

‘Of course, you can, kotek.’ Agata’s mother, Paulina, was her birthing partner. The identity of the baby’s father was something Agata had chosen not to disclose, but based on what she and her mother had said, he had two other children already and was still married to their mother. In her twelve years as a midwife, Nadia had learned not to judge, but with two young children of her own and an estranged husband who’d also ‘found comfort’ elsewhere, she’d had to take a deep breath. This wasn’t about her, and all that mattered was the health and welfare of both Agata and her baby.

Paulina had offered her daughter unwavering support throughout the labour. When Nadia had asked what the whispered endearment ‘kotek’ meant, Paulina had explained that it translated to ‘kitten’, which had apparently been her nickname for Agata from the day she was born.

‘Your mum’s right: you can do this and, whatever happens, you know you’ve got her here holding your hand, so it’s all going to be okay.’ Nadia knew better than anyone how much support from their mothers meant to women in labour, and even more so once the babies arrived. Since her marriage had broken down, and she’d returned to Port Agnes from New Zealand, she couldn’t even have managed to work without her mother’s help and she wouldn’t have had a roof over her head either. It might be cramped in Frankie’s two-bedroom flat above The Cookie Jar café, but it had still proved to be a sanctuary after the pain of the marriage breakdown. Usually her mother would step in when there were childcare problems too, but today she was out on home visits as part of the plan to complete her own midwifery training. So it looked like Nadia would just have to accept being slapped with another late pick-up fine. At this rate, she’d be funding the renovation of the school hall all by herself.

‘Damien should be here to see his son born. Dupek!’ Agata shouted the last word and her mother laughed.

‘My daughter. She barely speaks a word of Polish, despite me and her father speaking at our home all of the time, but of course she knows the bad words!’ Paulina shook her head, before squeezing her daughter’s shoulder. ‘It’s okay kotek, it will be over soon and it is that fool’s loss not to be here.’

‘The baby’s crowning.’ Nadia looked at Agata, locking eyes with her for a moment. ‘This is it; it won’t be long now.’

‘Mama, why didn’t you tell me it hurt this much?’ Agatha clung to Paulina’s arm, making the older woman smile.

‘And what would good would that have done? I got through it three times and the baby has to come, if you like it or not!’

‘I don’t like it!’

‘You’re doing really well.’ Nadia glanced at Anna, who nodded. ‘But we want baby to come nice and slowly now.’

‘I don’t! I just want it out!’

‘If the baby comes too quickly, it increases the risk of a tear.’ Anna was the kindest of people, but as the most senior midwife she could still have a very authoritative tone when she needed one.

‘When you get the next urge to push, I want you to take some shorter puff-puff type breaths to try and keep things nice and steady.’ Nadia kept her voice as calm as she wanted Agata to be. All thoughts about rushing off for school pick-up were completely forgotten.

‘Okay, okay, it’s coming.’ Agata did as instructed, her face screwing up with the effort.

‘That’s it kotek. You don’t want to end up as I did with you, like one of Babcia’s patchwork blankets!’

‘Mama!’ Agata shook her head and attempted to puff-puff again through the next two contractions, which had exactly the desired effect.

‘That’s brilliant sweetheart, you’ve delivered baby’s head now, so the next bit should be relatively easy.’ Anna made it sound like it really could be.

‘This time when you get the urge to push, I want you to go with it.’ Nadia checked there was no sign of the baby’s cord being wrapped around its neck as she spoke.

‘I’ll try.’ Agata dropped her chin and grunted the words, going silent as she pushed hard.

‘That’s it, the baby’s shoulders are out.’ Nadia was close to tears, as she was at every delivery, but she had a job to do. ‘One more good push and the rest of baby should follow.’

‘Come on kotek, he’s nearly here.’ Paulina dropped a kiss on her daughter’s forehead just before another contraction started.

‘That’s it, go on, you’re doing so well.’ Nadia took hold of the baby as the rest of him emerged, checking his airway and rubbing him with a towel, before lying him straight on his mother’s chest. ‘He’s here and he’s beautiful.’

‘He really is, isn’t he? Look Mama!’ Agata leant into Paulina as they gazed down at the little boy, just as he greeted the world with a loud cry. ‘He’s got a good pair of lungs on him.’

‘Like his mama.’ Paulina brushed a strand of hair away from her daughter’s head. ‘Well done kochanie. He’s perfect.’

‘Oh no, I missed it!’ Ella sounded breathless as she rushed into the delivery room. ‘I got stuck behind a tractor on the road back from Port Kara. I’m really sorry Nadia, you’re going to be so late.’

‘It’s okay, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’ Nadia touched Agata’s shoulder. ‘Congratulations again, you did an amazing job.’

‘Thank you so much for staying.’ Agata turned to look at Nadia, her eyes shining.

‘It was my pleasure.’

‘We were blessed to have you here to deliver my grandson.’ Paulina’s face was wet with tears as she gazed down at the baby.

‘Your little boy is going to have so much love.’ Nadia wanted to tell Agata how important Paulina was going to be, to both her and her newborn son, especially if she was raising him alone. But it wasn’t the time, and she couldn’t project her own experiences on everyone she met. She needed to get going anyway, otherwise the school would be calling social services thinking Remi had been abandoned altogether.

‘Ella and I can handle the third stage, but thanks so much for staying on. You’re a star.’ Anna smiled.

Nadia had felt welcomed by the whole team, ever since she’d joined the Port Agnes midwifery unit just a couple of months before, and it was already hard to imagine being anywhere else.

‘No problem. Right, bye everyone.’ With a final wave, she rushed out of the room as quickly as Ella had come into it. She just hoped there wouldn’t be any more tractors on the route between the unit and the school, because she was already horribly late.

Port Agnes primary school was a whitewashed, single-storey building, which looked down on the left-hand side of the harbour. Nadia had been so relieved that the tiny school had a place for Remi. For once, luck had been on her side and a family with three siblings had just left after moving out of Port Agnes. Remi seemed to have settled in almost instantly, making friends and talking non-stop about one little girl, Daisy, in particular. Nadia had promised to sort out a play date, but it was tricky when there was so little space in her mother’s flat, and her job made it hard to arrange after-school activities, especially at this time of year, when the nights drew in so quickly.

It was long-dark by the time she arrived at the school and the lights were twinkling down in the harbour below, reflected in the inky, black water. Nadia had already racked up a fifteen-pound fine at the nursery, where the manager had added to her stress by tapping her watch and telling her that it was no good for Mo’s confidence when his mother was late to pick him up. Her little boy was small for his age and quite shy compared to his big sister, and the worst part was Nadia knew the nursery manager was right. It wasn’t as if she was late because she’d been out with her friends for some sneaky afternoon cocktails, though. She’d been working, and midwifery wasn’t the sort of job where you could just pack up and walk out when the clock struck five – especially not in a rural unit like the one in Port Agnes.

Risking another telling off, Nadia parked in a space that was clearly labelled ‘Reserved for the Headteacher’ when she got to the school. If the head had any sense, she’d already be at home by now. Parking in that bay meant she could scoop Mo out of his car seat and dash straight into the building, instead of trying to find a space on the street and ending up several roads away.

‘Come on sweetheart, let’s go and get Remi.’ Nadia picked up her son, who had fallen asleep and was a lot harder to manoeuvre than he’d been even a few months before.

As Nadia rushed to the gate at the far end of the school, she almost got knocked off her feet by a man hurtling towards the entrance. He was looking at his phone even while he was running, and it took all of Nadia’s self-control not to shout at him. If she hadn’t had Mo in her arms, she probably would have done. It had definitely been one of those days.

‘Oh God, sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.’

‘No, you weren’t.’ Nadia looked up into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. The tall man, who was illuminated by the security light outside the building, was attempting an apologetic smile, but she had no time for niceties. ‘If you can just get out of the way please; I’m late to pick up my daughter.’

‘Me too.’ At least the mystery man wasn’t a teacher. That would be just like Nadia, to upset someone who was going to spend at least a year teaching each of her kids, and who might well take their mother’s rudeness out on them. Not bothering to acknowledge him, she darted through the door, with the mystery man hot on her heels.

‘Ah Mrs Ennor, here you are. At last.’ Miss Renfrew, who taught the year 2 class and took some shifts at the breakfast and after-school clubs sounded exasperated.

‘I’m so sorry, there was a delivery at work and I couldn’t—’

‘Dr Spencer.’ Miss Renfrew completely ignored Nadia and all but elbowed her out of the way as she spotted the mystery man. ‘Don’t forget what I said before: if you get caught up at the surgery, you only have to call and I’ll always look after Daisy for you. I know you can’t just clock off when you’re a GP.’

‘Thank you, but I couldn’t possibly put you out, Fiona.’ Those blue eyes not only had him on first name terms with Miss Renfrew, but they clearly got him the offer of unlimited late pick-ups too. Maybe it wasn’t the eyes. It could be the fact that the supervising teacher had referred to him as ‘doctor’. But, looking at him again, Nadia would have put money on the eyes having a lot to do with it.

‘I’m so sorry, my last patient was a toddler whose oxygen sats were so low I needed to call an ambulance. I didn’t want to leave until the paramedics had him on board. The only downside of Port Agnes is that everything takes ages to get here, even ambulances. I would have asked Saffron to pick Daisy up, but she’s already at the gym and she won’t pick her phone up when she’s in the middle of a workout.’

‘That’s fine, don’t worry at all.’ Fiona put a hand on his arm, clearly unfazed by the fact that his wife was probably some sort of gym bunny, with washboard abs and a size-six figure. If this was the same Daisy that Remi had spoken about almost constantly, she sounded perfect too, at least according to Nadia’s daughter.

‘Thank you and apologies again; you were talking to this lady before I barged in.’ Dr Spencer had dimples in both cheeks when he smiled and Nadia might as well have been invisible for all the notice Miss Renfrew was taking of her.

‘Thanks.’ She had to physically position herself between Miss Renfrew and Dr Spencer to get the other woman to acknowledge her. ‘Like I was saying, I was late because of a patient too.’

‘Oh, you’re a doctor as well?’ Dr Blue Eyes held her gaze and she almost found herself nodding.

‘Er no, I’m a midwife, but I had a lady who was really close to the end of her labour and she didn’t want me to leave.’

‘That’s completely understandable.’ He smiled again and despite wanting to dislike him for clearly having a perfect life, with an equally perfect wife and daughter, Nadia found herself returning his smile.

‘The girls are in the cosy corner in classroom two with Miss Coleman.’ Miss Renfrew directed a pointed look at Nadia. ‘Remi was getting really tired, what with it being so late, so Miss Coleman offered to read them a story. I’ve got prep to do for tomorrow.’

‘I’m sure Daisy was flagging just as much; we’re both really sorry.’ Dr Spencer was still smiling that irresistible, dimpled smile. ‘I know you understand, though. Sick toddlers and newborn babies just don’t have any respect for time. I’m so grateful that Daisy is in such good hands.’

‘Well, yes, I understand it’s difficult for you.’ Miss Renfrew clearly still couldn’t quite bring herself to direct the same understanding towards Nadia.

‘Mummy!’ Suddenly Remi appeared at the door, looking more excited than tired, skipping into the room, hand in hand with a little girl who had golden blonde hair and the same bright blue eyes as her father. The name Daisy was perfect for her.

‘Hello darling, I’m so sorry I’m late.’ Nadia bent down and her daughter squeezed her tightly. Mo, who was still asleep and clamped to her side, didn’t even stir when his sister let out an excited squeak.

‘Can Daisy come to dinner? We want to play ’splorers.’

‘We were reading The Snail and the Whale.’ Miss Coleman, who had followed the children into the room, smiled. ‘And the girls have decided they want to explore the world like the little snail.’

‘Can she come, Mummy, pleeeaase?’

‘Not tonight, darling, I’m sorry. It’s already late.’ Nadia felt her face colour. It wouldn’t have mattered what time it was. There was no way she could invite any of Remi’s friends home while they were crammed into the tiny flat over the café, and a mixture of guilt and embarrassment made Nadia go hot. Remi’s downturned mouth and wobbling chin weren’t helping either. ‘How about if we pick Daisy up on Saturday and go exploring? There’s a Halloween trail to follow through Port Agnes and if we solve all the clues there’s even a prize at the end. Then we can get some cake or ice cream at The Cookie Jar afterwards.’

Nadia had seen the poster advertising the event pinned to the noticeboard in the reception area of the midwifery unit. She might be saving hard for the deposit to rent a place of her own, but Remi and Mo still needed the occasional treat. It wasn’t the play date Remi wanted, but it would have to do for now. ‘That’s if it’s okay with Daisy’s mummy and daddy?’

‘It sounds perfect to me.’ Dr Spencer took his daughter’s hand, an unreadable expression crossing his face as Daisy leant against him. He passed Nadia a card. ‘If you want to text me, we can sort out the details and I’m sure I can get Saffron on board to return the favour at some point.’

‘Great.’ Nadia’s smile felt tight. She hated the thought that it might be from bitterness, but there was no denying she disliked Saffron without even having met her. She couldn’t imagine being friends with anyone who put their workout before picking up their daughter or who needed persuading to facilitate a play date for her child. Taking Dr Spencer’s card, she stuffed it into her pocket. ‘Come on then, sweetheart, let’s get you home.’

‘Bye, bye, Daisy-boo!’ Remi waved at her little friend.

‘Bye Remi-roo.’ It was so cute the way the girls had instantly formed a friendship so strong that they already had nicknames for each other. It was the sort of thing that only children seemed capable of and Nadia would do whatever was needed to nurture that. Even befriend Saffron the gym bunny, if that’s what it took.

‘I’ll be in touch then.’ She turned to Daisy’s father, whose killer smile was back in situ.

‘Thank you; Daisy will love it.’

‘No problem.’ Forcing herself to turn away from those dimples, she looked towards the teachers. ‘And apologies again for being so late.’

‘Try not to let it happen again.’ Miss Renfrew’s tone hadn’t softened, but all Nadia could do was nod. Not every child had a father willing to share the school pick-ups and Remi didn’t even have one in the same hemisphere. Miss Renfrew really was wasting her breath, because Nadia already felt terrible about it. All by herself.

2

Working alongside Nadia was something Frankie had thought would never happen. She hadn’t even let herself dream that her daughter would come back to the UK. The pain she’d felt when Nadia had got on that flight to emigrate to New Zealand had only been compounded when Frankie had slowly come to realise that her daughter and her family were never coming back. Her son, Harish, who everyone called Hari, had his own life in London, working long hours in the law firm where he was already a partner. Work had become his life fairly early on and his infrequent visits home had become even rarer once he’d got engaged to Uma, who was also a lawyer. They inhabited a world that was completely alien to Frankie and sometimes she found it hard to relate to them, even when she did get the chance to see them.

It had been different with Nadia. They’d always had so much in common and if Frankie had lived some of her dreams vicariously through her daughter when Nadia had become a midwife, it had just seemed to strengthen their bond. Looking back, having her daughter living just around the corner had been what had enabled Frankie to hold on in a marriage that had been limping along for years. But with Nadia gone, Frankie’s relationship with her husband, Advik, had quickly reached breaking point and it had been a relief to move to the tiny flat she now called home.

Her friends had been supportive and even Advik and her children had seemed to accept the decision without too much drama, although Hari had taken it the hardest of the two. It was her elderly mother, Bhavna, who’d called her a fool and told her that she was ashamed of Frankie for acting like a silly teenager. She fired words like bullets that were fully intended to wound: Don’t you realise what you’re throwing away, Firaki? Life isn’t all about having fun! It had taken all Frankie had not to tell her mother that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had fun, but that she was certain it hadn’t been since before Nadia had left. Her mother still spoke to her as if she was and child and she was the only person who still called her Firaki, after a mispronunciation of her name had earned her the nickname Frankie when she was still at school. It felt like an indication of how well her mother knew her as a person. If she was an embarrassment to Bhavna, that was just something she was going to have to live with, because there was no going back.

Although leaving Advik had been a relief in the end, it hadn’t done anything to lessen the empty feeling that had settled in Frankie’s chest since her daughter had started a new life on the other side of the world. As soon as she’d scraped together enough money, she’d headed out to see them just after Mo was born. The last thing she’d expected to witness, on her second visit, was her daughter’s marriage imploding too. It meant she’d ended up staying out there for much longer than planned – taking care of the children while Nadia went to work. Getting on the plane to eventually come home again had been one of the hardest things Frankie had ever done, and she hadn’t dared hope that her daughter might follow on behind her.

Now, having Nadia and the children back was like a dream come true, but she still wished things had worked out between Nadia and Ryan. How could she do anything else when her daughter looked so broken, in between the painted-on smiles that only Frankie could see through.

‘I don’t think it’s going to be long now before active labour starts and things really begin to progress.’ Nadia had just examined Esther, the woman whose labour she was overseeing, with support from Gwen and Frankie. ‘You’re already at five centimetres.’

‘Thank goodness for that; I’m not sure how long I can take the stress!’ Esther’s husband, Vince, looked a lot more panicked than his wife, who seemed to be coping with the whole thing with a serene calm. ‘How long do you think it will be?’

‘It could be as little as five hours based on the progress so far, but there are no guarantees unfortunately.’ Nadia smiled, which had a way of putting everyone at their ease, and Frankie felt a surge of pride just watching her daughter.

‘I’m not in any hurry for things to really kick in. Slow and steady works for me.’ Esther’s pink-streaked hair fanned out across the pillow. Frankie had always envied people whose hair was light enough to dye other colours. Her own was still almost completely black, despite the fact she was in her mid-fifties. Maybe when the greys really started to come in, she could finally rebel and have some streaks of pink too. That would give her mother something else to complain about.

‘Either way, I don’t think you’ll be needing any assistance from me for a while.’ Gwen, who’d popped in to see how things were going, looked towards Esther. ‘I love your T-shirt by the way; now that’s a diet I could get behind!’

The black oversized T-shirt had the words: Breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper, emblazoned across the front.

‘It’s from Lord of the Rings.’ Esther smoothed a hand over the T-shirt, the sensors for the heart monitor noticeable beneath the material tightly stretched across her bump. ‘It seemed fitting as we met at a fan club event. It’s also why we’re calling the baby Arwen.’

‘That’s lovely and very unusual.’ Frankie wasn’t about to admit that she’d walked out of the cinema five minutes into the first Lord of the Rings film. She’d had smear tests that had been more enjoyable, but each to their own.

‘I even asked her to marry me in Elvish.’ Vince smiled at the memory.

‘As Elvis?’ Gwen looked completely confused and Frankie couldn’t help laughing.

‘No, in Elvish, the language from the Lord of the Rings.’ Esther was laughing too. ‘There were absolutely no rhinestone-covered jumpsuits involved!’

‘That’s a great story to tell Arwen when she’s old enough to understand. In my experience, kids love knowing how their parents met.’ Nadia had a wistful look on her face again and Frankie didn’t need three guesses to work out what she was thinking about.

‘She’ll probably think it’s completely tragic.’ Esther rolled her eyes. ‘And she wouldn’t be the only one.’

‘I think having a shared passion can only be a good thing.’ Nadia’s eyes met Frankie’s for a split second, before she looked away again. From what her daughter had told her, the fact that Ryan had wanted to spend all his spare time playing the sports he loved had been the first wedge driven between them. The female golf pro he’d met had turned into a much bigger wedge, but when the affair had been revealed, Ryan had still blamed Nadia for not being interested in the things he was. Never mind that she was raising two young children and holding down a demanding job, the breakdown of their marriage was somehow still all her fault.

Frankie had tried her best to comfort her daughter, but Nadia was convinced she should have seen it coming. She’d admitted squashing the worries she’d had about how little they had in common when they’d first met, because she’d fallen head over heels in love with him and had assumed the rest would work itself out.

‘I couldn’t agree more that having something in common is a great starting point.’ Gwen had a mischievous smile on her face. ‘Maybe you should take some sort of class, Frankie. You might find your soulmate while you’re reupholstering a chair or learning how to write place cards in calligraphy.’

‘I think I’d rather just forget the whole idea. If I’m meant to meet someone I will.’ The last thing Frankie wanted was to have a conversation about all of this right now, but Gwen seemed oblivious to boundaries of any kind. Frankie had kept her dating life quiet from everyone. It was early days with Guy, the father of Jess, one of the other midwives on the team, and she fully intended to continue to keep it quiet until there was something more to tell.

‘What about you, Nadia? You could try a salsa class, or join the rock choir? My friend Maggie met her fourth husband there last year.’

‘Fourth husband?’ Nadia visibly shuddered. ‘She’s a brave lady. One ex is more than enough for me.’

‘You shouldn’t let that put you off forever.’ Gwen was really pushing it, the way she often did. Even though Frankie knew it was with the best of intentions, she could tell it was making Nadia uncomfortable. It wasn’t a conversation anyone wanted to have in front of strangers, much less one of their patients. It was definitely time for a change of subject.

‘So when you go to these conventions’ – Frankie turned towards Vince – ‘do you wear costumes too?’

‘Absolutely. The first time I met Esther, I was wearing a pair of rubber hobbit feet.’

‘He had me at hairy toe!’ Esther laughed again.

‘Maybe I should go to one of these conventions. My Barry’s always telling me I’ve got hobbit’s feet, although thanks to the wonders of waxing I just about manage to keep the hairy toes in check.’ Gwen winked. ‘Well, most of the time!’

‘I’m not quite sure how to respond to that.’ Vince’s face was a picture.

‘The thought of all those hairy hobbit feet seems to have woken the baby up.’ Esther grunted the words as another contraction took hold.

‘I wish I could do something to take the pain away for you.’ Vince clasped his wife’s hand.

‘Aside from the sort of drugs we’re not able to offer here, there’s only one thing that can take the pain away and that’s the baby’s arrival.’ Nadia’s tone was reassuring, but the wistful look was back on her face. ‘Each contraction brings that a step closer. It’s the most amazing thing the two of you will ever experience.’

‘Tea might help too; I find it does with most things.’ Frankie hoped she was right, because she’d recognised the look on her daughter’s face. It seemed to appear so often lately, when she spoke about the children or her life with Ryan. Frankie had been there when Remi was born and she’d heard Ryan’s declarations of love as Nadia had brought her into the world – his promise that nothing would ever change and that they’d always be a family. That promise of forever had turned out to be just one of the lies Ryan had told and it was incredibly hard to look at the sadness on her daughter’s face. Making tea wasn’t just for Esther’s and Vince’s benefit; Frankie needed a moment too.

‘Like I said, it’s going to be a while before you need me, so I’ll give Frankie a hand.’ Gwen was already halfway towards the door, thwarting any chance Frankie might have had of taking a moment for herself.

‘I might even be able to rustle up some biscuits. They always work as a distraction for me.’ Frankie smiled at Esther, whose latest contraction had now eased off. ‘Hence why I’ve got hips like these. But at least I haven’t got hobbit’s feet.’

‘So you say, but there could be anything hidden under those clogs!’ Gwen waggled her finger. ‘Come on, let’s go and see if we can find the good biscuits for these two.’

Frankie followed her friend out into the corridor, unable to stop herself from emitting a huge sigh as she shut the door of the delivery room behind her.

‘Come on, what’s up?’ Gwen blocked her path and any attempt to brush her off clearly wasn’t going to work.

‘I’m just worried about Nadia. I know she’s sad about the break-up, but it’s really hard that this is something I can’t fix. When the kids were little, whatever problems they had, I was always able to find something to help. But this…’ Frankie’s words